Letter to the Editor

How to Write a Letter to the Editor

Are you really passionate about labor violence in Colombia? Have you spotted inaccurate or biased news in a recent news article?

Speak up and write a letter to the editor! Writing a letter to the editor can make a difference because it is a great advocacy tool. Your letter to the editor can reach a large audience and bring up information not included in a news article. According to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), the letters page is one of the most carefully read sections of a paper. It is also the page many elected officials go to gain a perspective on public opinion.

Don't know how to write a letter to the editor?
USLEAP can help:

1) Make your letter timely - Your letter should address a recent article or event. Preferably send your letter no more than a day after the article was published.

2) Keep your letter brief - Make one or two points, clearly and concisely, within the first sentence or paragraph. This reflects confidence.

3) Be factual - Include relevant facts and support them.

4) Do not attack - Avoid outright attacks on the newspaper or journalist.

5) Be witty! - Your letter will be more engaging and more memorable.

6) Include your name, phone number and address - This is so editors can verify YOU wrote the letter and not someone else.

7) Check format requirements - Format and length requirements vary from paper to paper:

• Check out the guidelines for the newspaper you're writing to so that your letter is more likely to be published and so you know where to send your letter.
• Here are Guidelines to a few major newspapers:
  New York Times
  Washington Post
  Chicago Tribune
  USA Today
  The Wall Street Journal
  Los Angeles Times

The basic form of your letter...

To the editor:

Your January 24 editorial (or give page number) article on (describe the article here) overlooked an important point.

OR

I was disappointed to see that The Time's January 24 editorial "[Title]" failed to include key facts in the debate.

Explain why and give a couple of concise examples.

Close with a punchy one-liner. "Uribe's supposed efforts to defend his nation's citizens are simply unconvincing in the face of thousands of civilian casualties."

Check out our sample letter to the editor

Here are some great media resources from FAIR.org:
FAIR Toolkit
FAIR - How to Detect Bias 
FAIR - Media Contacts